Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq

In 2004, Mark Alan Stamaty wrote and illustrated this single-issue graphic novel for Alfred A. Knopf, telling the true story of Alia Muhammad Baker, a librarian in Basra, Iraq, who risked her life to save thousands of books from destruction during the war. A compact, powerful work of nonfiction comics, it highlights the courage of one woman and the enduring importance of preserving culture.